ilyiw: Cage Bats, Kissing, Cooking & Conundrums
by cpneb
Summary: This is, indeed, another entry in the “if lovin’ you is wrong” multi-verse. What would have happened if the Lowardians had used biological weapons? Zaratan's pairings contest 2 entry. Chapter 3: Chapter 3: …gifts of the heart… is up...now. Joss/?.
1. C 1: …a friend, indeed…

_**iyiw: Cage Bats, Kissing, Cooking & Conundrums**_

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

**--**

**A/N Forward: **

--

This is, indeed, another entry in the "if lovin' you is wrong" multi-verse.

The idea can be blamed on kt and the story she asked me to beta: no idea how it happened, but it did. I fully suspect she let loose a pack of pregnant plot bunnies in my study and giggled while she did it.

I tell people: write what you know, so this is a spin-off from the _**Blue Eyes, Shining**_ arc. The question came up: what would have happened if the Lowardians had started to use biological warfare?

A warning to readers: multiple character deaths occur in this story, and the Angst Monster gorged on peanut butter and macadamia nut cookies. You have been given notice…

…and, now, on with the story…

--

_**iyiw: Cage Bats, Kissing, Cooking & Conundrums**_

--

Chapter 1: …a friend, indeed…

--

(Nine months after _**Graduation**_….)

"I'll be back, _abuela de generosidad_," Zita Flores said as she watched her grandmother close her eyes and smile at her just before she closed the hospital room door. She started walking down the hallway and had taken just a few steps before the young woman's eyes filled with tears.

Her _abuela_, generous with her time and talents beyond everyone's imagination, was dying, and she recalled her closing her eyes with a smile, 'maybe, for the last time,' she thought sadly.

She had only a short time left, and Zita was happy that she had been able to spend as much time with her as she wished.

She hadn't told her about the breakup, though: her _abuela_ loved Felix and would have been devastated to learn that he had called off the engagement.

Zita still didn't know why, even after all these months. Felix had disappeared two days after he had broken up with her, and she hadn't seen him since.

She walked down the corridor of the hospital wing, glancing mindlessly at the names next to the doors. The hand-printed names, on small white paper cards were, at times, almost impossible to read, like some the handwriting of several doctor that she knew, so she almost ran into the wall when she saw one name that was done so perfectly clear and easy to read that it stood out like a huge beacon in the starless night. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the printed name, a name that she knew all too

**Felix Renton**.

She back-tracked the few steps she had taken before the name had really sunk in and stared at the name printed on the white card, convinced that there must be a mistake. Reaching up, she felt the letters:

they were real.

She decided to see if she was going crazy, or if one of Kim's supervillians was into cloning…again.

She knocked quietly on the door.

"Yes, come in," a familiar voice replied.

Zita threw the door open and stared from the doorway at her former fiancé, lying in the single hospital bed in the room. Felix looked over from where he was watching the television set and dropped the remote in his lap. 'Merde,' he whispered inside as he saw who had thrown the door open.

He grabbed it up and quickly punched the off button, leaving the room filled with only the sounds of the machines. "Zita! What are you doing here?" Felix looked shocked, but he knew he'd been busted, one more time. 'How did she find me?' he thought, but he didn't have a chance to think much more because Zita took the assault.

"I come up here to visit my abuela, Felix. I walk down the hall, and I find you in here," she crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him. "Is this why you broke off our engagement, Felix: because you got sick?"

"No, Zita, I'm not sick," Felix replied, his voice stronger than Zita expected to come from him, considering that he was in a hospital bed. "I'm dying," he added calmly, finally saying it out loud to someone other than his mother and his doctor.

Her reaction was partially what he expected, but he got more:

Zita gasped, put her hands up to her face, and walked calmly over to Felix as the door closed behind her. As she neared the bed, her face became unfrozen from shock and morphed into something different…

…as she slapped him across the face with everything she had, leaving her handprint squarely embedded squarely across his cheek.

"You…you…," and she launched into a string of Spanish that echoed around the room and out the closed door, almost as loud as her slap accompanied by a stream of tears that flooded onto Felix's bed and the floor as she backed away from him, the speed and volume of her words both increasing with each word. Felix was very glad that he didn't understand her, because he was certain the he would have been blushing to hear them come from Zita's mouth. It was the tears, though: those tears that he was not expecting that ripped him in two. That was harder to take than the slap.

"What did you expect me to do when I read about your passing in the newspaper, Felix?" Zita screamed as she suddenly switched back to English and wiped away the excess water, allowing her eyes to bore through to the inner workings of his very soul.

"I wanted to spare you my pain, Zita: that's why I broke up with you. I couldn't put you through what I've been through these past months," he unknowingly winced as he remembered the screams, the pain, the fear and pain on his own mother's face, his own fears….

…'and yet, her tears, Zita's verdammenswert tears', he thought. That's what he couldn't take inside. It was tearing him up like a piece of full sheet of paper in a cross-cut media shredder and ripping his heart, as well.

"Spare me?" She snarled. "**You** broke up with **me**, didn't tell me **why**, and you wanted to spare _**me**_?" She spat a few more words in Spanish with the venom of a cobra that he was sure wasn't very polite, accompanied by even more watery streams…

…and then, she laughed in his face. "You're such a _gringo_, Felix Josiah Renton: you couldn't imagine that I'd want to be with you, no matter what happened?"

"Well," he began, and he stopped as she pulled his head forward so that his lips were mere millimeters from hers.

"You're stuck with me until you're gone, now," she whispered.

"No," he said sharply and pushed her face away from him with all the force he could muster.

Zita looked angry enough to let loose a full "Poncho Villa"-like onslaught of Spanish that would easily compare to her first bombardment after she had slapped him hard enough to practically unhinge his jaw.

"I can't kiss you," Felix said, his voice just above a whisper as he lowered his face.

"You _**can't**_, or you _**won't**_kiss me, Felix?" she spat back, her voice angry and almost back to the same volume it had been just before she had left her hand print on his cheek. Now, her tears were no longer of sadness: they were filled with pure anger, and a fire burned brightly behind them, one that could have made Shego envious.

Lifting his face, tears streaming from his eyes now, he again repeated "I _can't _kiss you." He paused for a second then whispered "I don't want to kill you."

She stopped speaking and stood there in a full quandary at what her ex-boyfriend had just said. The shock, this time around, was nothing like what she'd previously felt.

At the shocked look on her face, he motioned for her to sit on the bed. Taking a deep breath and her hand in his, he began to tell her what happened.

After he finished, Zita's now falling tears matched his. Twin tears, like waterfalls of exquisite beauty, fell for the love that she still had for him and he still, she hoped, he had for her..

"You did all that, why?" she asked in a voice filled with both concern and compassion.

"I had to make certain that you would make it, Zita," he smiled. "A world without Zita Flores is no world that I'd want to leave behind," he grinned.

Zita smiled weakly. "Smooth talker, 'wheels,'" she replied, and Felix laughed. His laugh was infectious, and Zita joined him only a few seconds later.

"Wow, Zita, that felt good," Felix said when they both finally quit laughing. "You don't know how long it's been since I laughed like that."

"After Graduation," she reminded him, "at the beach?"

He smiled. 'Good times, good times,' he remembered Zita riding with him most of the night and the feel of her sitting on his lap. "Do you understand?" he asked, and she nodded.

'It's so not fair,' she thought, and then she had to ask: "Well then, can I at least hold you?"

"Yes, you may," he laughed again, and she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him so tight he wheezed jokingly.

"I want to hold you for as long as I can," she whispered, "until I can't hold you any longer," she added, and her tears soaked the shoulders of his hospital gown.

"You won't have long to wait," Felix, a huge smile on his face, whispered when she finally let him up for air.

"I don't care," she whispered. "As long as you have," she leaned in again for another hug, and Felix didn't complain.

'As long as we have together,' she whispered inside her head…

--

Zita came in, three days later, and found Felix sitting up in his bed, looking not at all well. He turned his head when he heard her enter the room, and he held out his arms.

She crossed the distance quickly and grabbed him, holding him tightly. She was shocked to feel how cold he was.

"Mom died last night in her sleep and I'm not doing real well, either," Felix said, and Zita held him even tighter and cried for the woman she had already bonded with as her future mother-in-law, so many months ago after their first meeting over dinner.

"Zita," Felix said softly, and he pulled back. She was shocked to see the look on his face. "I'm scared," he whispered, and her heart broke as she pulled him back to her, once again. "Will you stay with me until…" he hesitated to ask.

She had no qualms about her response:

"As long as you need me," she whispered into his ear, "as long as we have," she added, and she felt him nod his approval.

"I love you, Zita," he whispered.

"I love you, Felix, my handsome, wonderful cat," she whispered and squeezed…

And she felt him take a breath, and then no more.

Her tears falling, she decided that she didn't care, any more.

She leaned in and kissed his lips before they could turn cold.

"As long as we had," she said as she laid him back on the bed, closing his eyes as the nurses came rushing, trailed by the doctor. "I'll always love you Felix," she whispered as she felt her heart break and then heal in just moments as her tears suddenly stopped falling.

The doctor walked over to Felix and felt his wrist. She reached over and turned off the screaming monitor and nodded to the nurse after looking at her watch: "time of death: 9:47 AM MDT."

--

"As long as we had," Zita whispered as she placed the single red rose on the casket at the gravesite of her BFF and a matching one on the casket of Dr. Rebecca Renton. She heard her mom, Gabrielle, sniffle behind her as she also placed roses on the caskets. She raised her head and took the four steps from the caskets to the podium to look out over the crowd of people that had come to give their respects.

"We are here to celebrate the lives of two people," she began, "but not any ordinary individuals. Dr. Renton and her son, Felix, willingly gave up their lives as they researched and discovered the 'lovely parting gift,'" Zita laughed, "left to us by the Lowardians: a virus, released over Middleton by the pods on their landings that, if left unchecked, would have started their assault by killing everyone on the planet with a compromised immune system.

"The virus was designed to mutate, however, so that after all with compromised immune systems were gone, the virus would then go on to kill the rest of the human race. Dr. Renton and her son identified the virus, created the nanobots that were released into the atmosphere over the city of Middleton, and saved the planet. The dual purposes of the nanobots were to destroy the virus and then to self-destruct at the completion of their tasks. Unfortunately, the virus had already attacked several individuals in Middleton, and the self-same nanobots that they created to save us all could not, in fact, save all of them…nor, could they save their creators.

"The death toll of 200 in the Tri-Cities area: Upperton, Middleton, and Lowerton, was a small price to pay for the safety of the entire world, but it came as a very personal cost to me," Zita continued. "I lost my fiancé and future mother-in-law as both were infected, and they spent their final months and died, saving the world."

She stopped and stepped away from the microphone, pulling out her handkerchief and wiping her tears.

"I lost my best friend," Gabrielle said into the microphone, "but what she was doing doesn't surprise me: she was the strongest woman I know, so her saving the world was no surprise. Rebecca, I'm going to miss you, my friend, but you will always be in here," she touched her heart and stepped away from the microphone.

"I lost my best male friend, a true hero," Ron Stoppable said after he stepped up to the microphone, Rufus on his shoulder. "It isn't the hoops I'll miss, or all the games of Zombie Mayhem I would have lost," he grinned. "It's something even more important.

"Felix accepted me as an equal, a friend, even though he was way smarter and more athletic." Ron paused for just a moment then went on, "In my years with Kim, one of the things she taught me was what it means to be a true hero. "A true hero keeps going," Kim says, "no matter the odds or what is ahead." Kim has called me a hero every now and again, but I do what I do for her. Felix did what he did because, as he told me after he was infected, 'it's my job, Ron; just like yours is to take care of Kim,'"

Ron paused again and wiped his face with the back of his hand. "He's a hero, because he kept going, even when so many other people could have just folded up or gone into hiding. Not Felix," Ron smiled. "Felix, man, I'm gonna miss you," Ron said, placing his wireless controller on top of the casket.

"And, Mrs. Renton, in case you never heard it, you were a bon-diggity Mom and a real beauty; that's one reason Felix had so many friends willing to come over," he smiled. "Thanks for being there, for Felix, for me, for all of us," he concluded, placing a single white calla lily on her casket. He then stepped away from the microphone. As he walked away, Rufus handed him a huge white handkerchief and wiped his own tears with a small tissue, both of which he'd managed to secret out of Ron's pocket.

"I lost a dear, dear friend," Kim Possible stated as she stepped up to the microphone after placing a single white rose on each of the caskets of Felix and his mother. "Felix made me realize one of my greatest faults: my inability to face my own mortality. He showed me that when I first met him," Kim smiled, "and made a total fool out of myself, trying to keep both my feet out of my mouth whenever I talked to him.

"He taught me he wasn't disabled, but that he was just differently enabled. He taught me about 'cage bats,'" she smiled, "allowed me to play hoops with him, and even saved me on a mission."

Kim stopped and pulled out a tissue, wiping her face. "Felix spent far too much of his precious remaining time here, telling me that this wasn't my fault," Kim's tears were now even more evident as she spoke, "that I wasn't to blame for the Lowardians causing this just because Warmonga came back to Earth with Warhok. This was their plan on the first visit, but Warmonga's defeat delayed the release of the virus. They released the virus when they dropped the first pods on the Tri-Cities area: the die was cast, even before they perished.

"Felix, you are the one who really can do anything."

Kim paused once again, this time looking down at Felix's casket before continuing. "And, Mrs. Renton: thank you for talking to me like an adult, rather than like a stupid kid who didn't know anything about Felix's condition, that day when I first met you. My only hope and prayer is that I can be as strong as the two of you," she concluded, turning and placing bouquets of red, yellow, and white roses on both caskets and, then picking up a basketball and placing it on Felix's casket.

Kim took Zita's hand and led her back to a seat in front of the microphone. Ron reached up and took the hands of both of the ladies, helping them to their seats and placing Zita between the two of them and Gabrielle on his other side. "She needs both of us, KP, and Gabby needs us, too," he had explained to Kim earlier as they had ridden to the gravesite, and Kim had, reluctantly, agreed.

The vacant spot at the microphone did not remain vacant for long.

"We are here," a general stepped to the microphone, "to represent the nations of the world in honoring the Renton family. Many of you did not know that Felix's father was a member of the Department of Homeland Security as a member of the Secret Service," he continued, eliciting gasps from several people, "and that he died in the line of duty, saving several individuals at the loss of his own life. His widow and his son have made their husband and father proud in following the Renton tradition.

"With the approvals of several heads of state," the general continued, "we will render honors to our fallen heroes," and the general saluted Zita, Gabrielle, and Kim, then stepped forward, opening a case that he held under his arm.

"Mrs. Flores, Ms. Flores, Congress has voted, unanimously, to award both Dr. Rebecca Renton and Felix Renton the Congressional Medal of Freedom, posthumously," he pulled out both of the medals, encased in their glass. "This is nowhere near what they deserve, ladies, but it's all that we can do."

He gave them each a medal and then saluted again, dropping the salute slowly, and turned to the armed and unarmed men, all standing.

Soldiers from every continent, over 20, all lifted their arms. Only the American soldiers, holding loaded weapons, fired, again and again, rendering an unheard-of 21-gun salute for non-military persons.

The roaring sounds came over the mountains as a formation of blue jets came barreling from the Rockies, six jets in all. Two of them pealed away: one to the right, and one to the left, as the remainder of the formation screamed by, overhead. Zita smiled as she saw the two jets each releasing a trail of smoke: one pink, one blue.

"Mrs. Flores, Ms. Flores," the general stepped forward once again, a folded flag now in each of his hands. "On behalf of the President of the United States, on behalf of a grateful nation, and on behalf of a grateful planet," he handed the first flag to Gabrielle and then handed one to Zita. He then stepped back and saluted both ladies.

The rose petals on both caskets fluttered their approval as the sole bugler began "Taps."

Ron felt Zita and Gabrielle squeeze his hands so tight that his eyes glowed blue for a moment, and blue tears fell from his face onto his lap.

--

chapter now complete

--

Translations:

Abuelo – (Spanish) grandmother

generosidad - (Spanish) generous

verdammenswert – (German) damnable

--

What happens next? Stay tuned for Chapter 2: …someone special, this way gives…

--

2009.10.30

--


	2. C 2: someone special, this way gives

_**i**__**lyiw: Cage Bats, Kissing, Cooking & Conundrums**_

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

**--**

**A/N Forward: **

--

This is, indeed, another entry in the "if lovin' you is wrong" multi-verse.

The idea can be blamed on kt and the story she asked me to beta: no idea how it happened, but it did. I fully suspect she let loose a pack of pregnant plot bunnies in my study and giggled while she did it.

I tell people: write what you know, so this is a spin-off from the _**Blue Eyes, Shining**_ arc. The question came up: What would have happened if the Lowardians had used biological weapons?

--

_**iyiw: Cage Bats, Kissing, Cooking & Conundrums**_

--

Chapter 2: …someone special, this way gives…

--

(Five years later)

Zita had seen the coffee shop 'opening soon' signs as she drove to MIST each day, but she had missed the grand opening. Two weeks after the grand opening, on a Saturday morning, she decided to try it and see if it was 'all that.'

She pulled into the three-quarters-filled parking lot and stopped her car in the first open slot. Stepping out, she smoothed her sun dress down and, after closing her car door and locking it, headed across the parking lot. Her low heels clicked on the concrete as she approached the front door.

She stopped in front of the door and laughed: the door had a sign on it that read: **_door sign under construction…but, we're not_**. She walked inside, and a slender ('almost skinny', Zita thought) young woman greeted her. "Welcome to Lontaine's Café and Java Bar," she smiled. "My name is Olivia. Are you waiting for someone?"

"No, just me: I decided I wanted to see what was in here and if the coffee was any good," Zita grinned, and Olivia smiled. Zita grinned inside: she could tell that Olivia had just had her braces removed. 'Her mouth still moves like they're there: just like I remember,' she thought to herself. 'And, that explains the skinny,' she chucked inside, remembering her own braces time and what happened after she had them removed.

"Well, let me take you to the Owners' booth so you can truly enjoy the experience," Olivia replied and led her to a booth, resplendent in leather ('Oh, my' Zita thought: 'It's Corinthian; _abuela_ would have loved it!'), away from the coffee bar seats, and waited until Zita sat before handing her a menu.

Zita opened it and was surprised to find a full breakfast spread along with several breakfast coffee offerings and some blends, as well. She glanced at the menu and realized that she was starving.

When Olivia returned ("I decided that you needed a personal touch," she grinned) with water and silverware, Zita ordered Huevos Rancheros "with extra guac," she smiled; a chorizo, potato, and egg burrito; a large grapefruit juice; and a Mexican coffee, "morning version, please and thank you," Zita laughed. She wanted the coffee and the spices, but no tequila this early in the morning…at least, not today.

Olivia nodded and walked away.

A young black man, wearing what Zita was certain was a very expensive tailored suit, approached the booth. "Forgive me, but I couldn't help but hear your order," he smiled, and Zita could see the same thing in his eyes that she had seen in hers every morning for over three years. "Are you, by any chance, a Middleton native?"

"No sir, I'm not," she replied, and his face sank, "but I did go to high school here. Why do you ask?"

"You said something that a friend of mine says: 'Please, and thank you,'" he replied.

'No way could he know Kim: he's too young,' she thought. "A friend of mine says it, even today," she continued, and he looked even more curious.

"And, may I ask who?" he inquired.

"Kim Possible," Zita said, and his face lit up with recognition.

"You went to MHS, then," he grinned. "You knew Kim and Ron," he added

"Yes, they are still friends of mine: why do you ask?"

"I thought you looked familiar," he said as he scrunched his face up in thought for a moment or two, and then he grinned even bigger than before as his memory flashed. "Malcolm Nevius and the 'Immersion Caps,'" he used air quotes, and Zita laughed.

"How did you know about that?" she asked.

"I was a lot younger, and a 'bit chubbier' back then," he grinned. "Perhaps you'd remember me if I wore Wizard's garb from 'Everlot' and waved a wand," he smiled and waved his hands.

Zita's face immediately lit up in recognition. "Wade!" she jumped up and hugged the young man.

He hugged her back and enjoyed the hug. 'Wow, she was pretty on the monitor and in Everlot, but she's gorgeous now: she's only gotten prettier,' he thought. He then realized where his hand was, and he pulled it further up her back and squeezed gently, hoping that she wouldn't be upset. 'It's been too long,' he thought sadly as he signaled and she released him, motioning him to join her in the booth.

As he sat, she asked: "Have you kept up with 'Everlot' lately, Dr. Load?" she smiled, and Wade laughed.

"Wade, please," he said, and she nodded. "I went in a few months ago for the first time in years," he admitted. "The 'Tunnel Lord'," he grinned: "I mean, the Lord and Lady of Everlot were both in there," he added, and Zita laughed.

"I suppose that they own the Magic Kingdom, now," Zita dead-panned. Wade was quiet for a moment, and then the grin that assaulted his face turned into a full-blown belly laugh.

"Who would have ever suspected Rufus and Debutante," she asked, and Wade just smiled.

"I've been busy since the Lowardians with my job and all, and other things," Wade added, and Zita leaned forward.

"I missed you teaching Intro to Comp. Sci. that first year," she admitted. "I took light loads then," she added.

"You had a lot on your plate, with Felix," he nodded, and Zita looked up in surprise. "Oh, yes, Zita, I remember you two quite well. I had kinda hoped that Monique would end up with Felix, but you had him hook, line, and sinker. He told me how much he cared about you while we were doing the research."

"He told you?" Zita looked surprised, and Wade reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"Zita, if you didn't know that Felix Renton was madly, head-over-heels, crazy-in-love with you, you were totally clueless: here's a Clue Bunny." Wade smiled and lightly pressed his thumb to her forehead, and Zita's face lit up. "That's why it nearly killed him to break off the engagement when he learned he was infected: he didn't want to even takethe million-to-one chance that he might infect you.

"It almost killed him, being away from you for all those months," Wade continued, "but he kept telling me that he didn't want to save a world without his Zita in it," he smiled. "You had him, bad," he laughed, and she laughed with him.

"So, are you not teaching, anymore?" she asked.

"I'm still teaching," he replied. "I'm just helping Mom out here on Saturday mornings," he said, and she stared.

"This is your mom's place?" she asked, and he nodded. "So: the name?"

"It was her nickname for my Dad," Wade replied.

"Was?"

"He was one of the 200, Zita," Wade replied, and Zita squeezed his hands.

"I'm so sorry, Wade: I didn't know."

"That damn virus went after him, with his MS, like Rufus in a Swiss cheese shop," Wade laughed. "At least, he didn't suffer," he continued.

"Dr. Load?" Zita looked up and saw a young woman standing at the table, holding a book.

"Yes?" Wade looked up, and recognition crossed his face after a moment. "Meredith? Meredith Greene?"

"Yes," she smiled, then held out her hand and showed her wedding ring. "It's Box, now," she smiled even bigger.

"Congratulations!" He stood and offered her a hug, and she hugged him. "How have you been, Meredith?"

"Better, now," she grinned. "I still miss your Dad, Dr. Load. Those years in his classes and working as his assistant helped me more than I could have imagined."

She looked at the booth and smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she nodded at Zita.

"No big," Zita replied with a smile.

"Another Middleton native," Meredith grinned. "Don't you people say anything that Kim Possible hasn't said before?"

"'Booyah?'" Zita offered, and this time, Meredith laughed.

"Meredith, can I get you a seat?" Wade realized that she had been standing the entire time.

"No, thanks, Wade," she replied, "unless you can get a table for four," and she stepped aside to reveal...

"Dr. McBride!" Wade exclaimed, and she stepped forward and shook Wade's hand.

"Dr. Load, congratulations on the opening," Dr, McBride smiled. "I've heard nothing but good things about the food and coffee here, especially the chorizo, so I brought my husband and our newest faculty member with me for some burritos, and to celebrate."

"Newest faculty member…and celebrate?" Wade asked, and she smiled.

"The MIST Board of Trustees extended me the offer of a five-year contract, with options, as Chancellor and President of MIST, and I accepted," she smiled broadly, and her husband's arm wrapped itself around her waist.

"Congratulations, Dr. McBride. Zita, Dr. McBride-" Wade started, and Zita cut him off as she stood.

"Wade, give me a break," she grinned. "I know all about Dr. Lupe McBride, the youngest Chancellor/President of a major university in the state's history, and the first Hispanic female, to boot. Dr. McBride: congratulations. You give all of us a wonderful role model," she said as she shook her hand.

"And, as Chancellor, I chose to have a breakfast burrito with my newest faculty member in her new job," Dr. McBride grinned.

"Newest…" Wade looked confused, and Meredith laughed.

"You?" he asked, and she nodded.

"And, in the _Ryan Load_ chair, to boot," she added, and then she put her hand on her mouth as if she'd let out a secret. "Oops: Sorry, Dr. McBride."

"That's all right, Meredith: I was going to tell him, anyway," she laughed.

"'_Ryan Load_' chair?" Wade asked, and Dr. McBride nodded.

"The Board also approved the request by several benefactors to fund and offer the _Ryan Load Chair for International Relations – new faculty_, and Meredith is the first recipient of the position," she beamed, and Wade fell back in the booth, stunned, and lowered his head.

"You managed to keep that a secret, Dr. McBride," he lifted his head, and there were tears on his face. "Thank you," he said, standing.

"No thanks are necessary, but I would like to try those wonderful burritos I've heard about," she replied.

"Ma'am, if you'll come with me, I'll make certain you get a chorizo burrito," Olivia said, having come up, menus in hand, when she saw the group at Wade's booth.

Olivia managed to guide the foursome to a spot three tables away, but still in the prime seating area. Meredith, her husband, Dr. Point, and her husband all sat down and opened the menus that Olivia handed them.

She came back by Wade. "Are you all right, Boss?" she giggled, blew him a kiss, and headed for the kitchen.

"What was that?" Zita asked with a chuckle.

"Old flame, sorta," Wade laughed. "She's got the 'heart of a Possible' in her hot little hands now: Jim Possible is doomed, but what a way to go," Wade laughed.

"So, you didn't know about the chair?" Zita asked as they sat, and Wade shook his head 'no'.

"The last time I remember seeing Meredith was at the memorial that his students had for him when the Spring Term started, after Dad died in late December, that year. Some of the students came to the funeral, but most were away and hadn't heard until they got back on campus," Wade explained. "Mom and I got separate calls to the Dean's office, and we were told that Dad's students as well as faculty members, both from MIST and other universities, had requested our permission to hold a memorial service for Dad.

"We had no idea what they were going to do, and we were shocked at the attendance: students and faculty from the Big 3 Ivy League schools, UCLA, Notre Dame, the Universities of Texas, Miami, and, Chicago, Thunderbird, and Austin College all spoke about their encounters with Dad and his 'Mock Security Council' sessions. I wasn't sure how Mom would take it, but she asked for a copy of the video: she said she'd never expected to laugh that hard, that long."

"So, she was all right with it?" Zita asked, and Wade nodded. "How was she, before the memorial?"

"Mom had taken Dad's death harder than I realized, it seemed: she didn't do any art for months. The good news was that the service gave her impetus to, a couple of months later, come back with a vengeance. She put out more pieces in six months than she had in six years: the galleries were past ecstatic and I was so happy to see her going strong, again. When she told me that she wanted to open a restaurant and coffee bar for Dad, I agreed immediately and helped her put it all together."

"Wait," Zita smiled. "I remember Ron and Kim saying something about you dating someone. What happened to that cute redhead, Wade? Wasn't she Kim's cousin or something?"

"Yeah, she's Kim's cousin," Wade reached for his coat collar and pulled, reminding Zita of Ron when he had to tell something difficult. "We dated for a long time and got really serious, Zita, but something got in the way," Wade grinned.

That was too much for Zita to take: "What got in the way, 'Doctor' Load?"

Wade reached inside his coat pocket, pulled out his wallet, and showed Zita a picture. "A wedding, actually," he grinned, and Zita saw Rachel Load and Slim Possible, standing at an outdoor spot, Slim in a Western Tux, and Rachel in a long, beautiful off-white wedding dress. "We decided not to mess things up," he explained, "by trying to explain how Joss and me were dating and also being step-siblings," he grinned.

"Ewwww," Zita groaned, and Wade laughed.

"I'm still helping her with _**Blaze**_**IT!**, just not with 'other things,'" Wade used 'air quotes', and Zita laughed.

--

Zita came back the next day for a late Sunday brunch.

Well, that was her official reason.

The real reason: she couldn't get her mind off Wade.

'He's smart, cute, fun to talk to, and an amazing man: what's not to like?' she asked herself as she walked into Lontaine's.

'But, he's so young,' another part of her said.

'But, he's so mature, and so darn cute,' the first part replied.

"Excuse me," came from a voice as she ran into the person walking beside her.

She looked up and grinned: "Ron Stoppable?" she asked.

Ron's smile was still there, and it was still infectious. "Zita?" he asked, and then he pulled her into a hug.

"Zita, how the heck have you been?"

"I'm fine, and it appears you are, too," she replied. "Extremely fine, I might add," she smirked, and Ron's ears and face both turned red. "Besides, what are you doing eating Mexican somewhere besides BN?"

"Oh, I still eat there, but I have to support the 'home team' sometimes," he replied. "Besides, Kim loves the cabrito salad here," he added with a grin and flashed his wedding band.

"How is Kim?" Zita asked.

"Kim is fine," Kim replied, coming up behind Ron and wrapping her arms around his stomach. "I love him, and I just love his new abs," she grinned, squeezing Ron and generating a yelp from him.

"KP!"

"Uh, uh: remember, it's KS now," she smiled and held up her own wedding ring.

"You'll always be _my _KP," Ron smiled and leaned back to steal a kiss from Kim.

--

Wade came out of the kitchen with one thing on his mind, and it wasn't particle physics:

Zita.

'I've not felt this way in a long time,' he thought, stopping to check the final prep station before the meals were brought out. 'Her smile, her eyes, and her laugh: I haven't felt like this since Joss.

'Could it be? Nah: I'm too young for her, and besides: she probably has men lined up out the Ying-yang, begging for dates,' he thought as he pushed open the swinging doors to the dining room….

…and, there she was, talking to Kim and Ron.

'I didn't think she could be any more beautiful than I remembered; obviously, Dr. Load, this time you were incorrect,' he laughed inside as he took in her long, brownish-black hair and her figure. 'It's not the sundress, but she lights up my imagination,' he grinned, looking at her lime-green blouse and blue-jean skirt.

Ron caught Wade's look. 'The Wade-man's got a thing for Zita, huh?' he grinned inside and winked at Wade.

Wade was successful at not sputtering at Ron's unspoken remark. "Welcome back, Ms. Flores," he announced, and Zita turned with a start and a smile.

"Why, thank you, kind suh," she said with a deep-Southern drawl and curtsied, and Kim and Ron both shot out laughs.

"That deserves the Owner's booth," Wade laughed, but his eyes were on her face. It seemed to pull him, closer and closer, demanding further examination, both visual and tactile….

"Ron, I think 'four's a crowd,' so we'll leave now," Kim smiled and pulled Ron in the direction of the exit. "Zita, we need to catch up, K?"

"Sure, Kim: besides, I need to learn more about your ab investigation techniques," Zita smiled, and Ron blushed as Kim swatted him on the rear and pushed him out the door, waving at Zita.

"Well, they were subtle," Wade smiled as he escorted Zita to the booth and sat, across form her, after she sat down.

"Wade," Zita started, and Wade looked up at her.

"Wade, I don't know what I'm feeling right now, but I want to spend some more time with you. After Felix, I learned never to waste time being coy," she smiled, but Wade could see the hurt in her eyes that flashed for an instant. "So, whaddya say, Doc: can I call you?"

"'You can call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me,' Zita," Wade replied without a moment's hesitation, and Zita snorted. "Seriously," he added in a Motor-Ed voice, and Zita laughed.

'I love that sound,' he thought.

"I'd like that very much, Zita," he continued, pulling a smile from her. "I have to tell you: I didn't sleep well last night, and it was all your fault, Zita: I haven't thought about anyone this much since Joss, and it scares me a bit."

"Same here with Wheel-man," Zita admitted, "but there's something about the connections, the common experiences that we have, that just feels right."

"And, at my age, I'm at my peak," Wade grinned.

"We'll just have to see about that…later, suh," she fluttered her eyelashes and reached across the table, grabbing his right hand.

The electricity that jumped from each of them to the other was the equivalent of a full charge from the Electro-Static Illuminator…

…and, they both liked it…a lot.

"So," Zita gave Wade a Shego-esque smirk, "what's good here…on the menu, I mean."

Olivia came running out of the kitchen when she heard Wade's massive shout, but all she saw was Wade, doubled over in laughter. She grinned and headed back to grab a basket of chips for a customer.

--

(Two months later)

"Wade," Zita said as she stopped in front of her apartment door. She turned and faced Wade, smiling.

"Wade, I had a great time: thank you, again," she said, squeezing his hand.

Wade squeezed her hand, released it, and turned to walk away.

That did it.

"Wade!" She shouted.

He stopped and turned to face her.

"What's wrong with me, Wade," she asked, her arms crossed over her chest. "Am I too ugly, or what?"

That did not help Wade's concentration.

"You're beautiful, Zita," he whispered.

She smiled. "So, why won't you kiss me?"

"?"

"You're such a young _gringo_, Wade," she laughed, reaching for his hand and pulling him to her.

"Zita, three PhDs doesn't make you an expert at dating. I've only seriously dated one girl, and I've not found anyone else since her that I was interested in," he said, then smiled. "That is, until now," he added.

"Well?" she asked.

"I had no idea if you liked me or not, and I didn't want to push you away."

Zita solved the problem.

She grabbed Wade's head in her hands, pulled him to her, and proceeded to give him 'Vertical CPR, version 3.0.'

When she released him, Wade's grin had 'not left the building'.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked with a knowing smile.

'Wow' was all that Wade could think of, but he managed to get out "oh, yeah," with a smile of his own.

"Good," she grinned, unlocking her front door and stepping inside.

She turned and looked back at him: "Are you coming?" she asked.

Wade grinned and stepped, not unlike a willing fly, into Zita's web.

The door closed, and a click of the lock was heard from the outside.

The door didn't open again until early the next afternoon.

--

(Three months later)

The afternoon sun was meandering to the horizon as the cab pulled up, stopping in front of the house.

The young woman opened the door and got out before the cab driver had a chance to turn off the engine. Popping the trunk lid with the remote release, he left the cab and went around to the trunk to remove the young woman's bag. He walked it up to the front door and rang the doorbell as she stood, breathing in the real outdoors for the first time in a long time and admiring the wonderful view. 'It's a lot like Texas,' she thought, 'only colder,' she shivered unconsciously.

The front door opened, and a tall, slender man with a handlebar moustache grinned. "Zita," he said, and she walked up to the porch and held out her hand.

"That won't do, little missy," Slim Possible laughed and pulled her into a tight hug.

He released her with a grin. "Where's the soon-to-be ball and chain, if the rumors are true?"

"Wade's back at the restaurant, grading papers, I suspect," she replied, smiling inside at the reference. "I came up to see Joss, if that's all right," she explained as he paid the cabbie and picked up her bag.

He laughed. "Get the ex's approval, huh?"

"Something like that," she replied. "Really, I came up to get some more dirt on Wade," she continued with an evil grin as she followed Slim inside.

"Wehl, if anyone could give you the dirt on him, it'd be mah Sweet Tea," he chuckled as he closed the door.

"_DADDY_!" the voice came from above, and Zita looked up and saw the loft entrance at the head of the stairs. "Do you have to tell everybody?"

"Already heard it from Wade, Joss," Zita laughed. "Can I come up?"

"Shor'," she called back down, and Zita took her suitcase from Slim and headed up the steps.

Even though she had already talked to Joss on the phone about coming up, Zita was still more than a bit uncomfortable as she stepped off the last step and onto the floor of the loft.

She looked around, grinning at the images on the wall above the desk:

A much younger Joss and Wade, with their arms around each other's waist;

Joss, receiving her high school diploma;

Wade, kissing the newly-graduated Joss;

Joss, Wade, Slim, and Rachel, all standing beside a bench with mountains behind them, obviously in Montana: 'obviously taken at the wedding,' Zita thought.

"Ah'll be right out," Joss called, and Zita laughed as she heard the toilet flush. The door opened, and Joss stepped out.

Zita was surprised: this was no 14-year-old anymore, and definitely not a 'kid cousin' to Kim. This was a beautiful young woman, with a smile that could light up the room. She had a blue-jean skirt on that Zita was convinced must have given Wade several fantasies before they'd become step-siblings, and her _**Blaze**_**IT! **shirt was definitely not providing the same look that Kim's shirt had given Ron when she was in high school. This was definitely a woman who could not hide the fact that she was a woman. The tall boots that she wore, Zita grinned, were designed to emphasize her shapely legs 'and drive Wade, or any other man, crazy,' she giggled inside.

The only thing that was out of place was the cast on her left arm, held by a sling around her neck.

"Let me guess: one-on-one with a horse?" Zita asked, and Joss grinned.

"Bronco, actually: I zigged when I should have zagged," Joss laughed as she stepped forward and wrapped her right arm around Zita. "He got me on that last buck, just before the 8-second mark, and I cracked my wrist when I landed," She said calmly, then laughed. "Fooled ya; I tripped over a dang tree root, Zita. Ah'll be fine," she added when she released Zita, "but, that's not important," she said, generating a laugh from Zita.

"Girl, you've spent waaaay too much time with him," she chuckled.

"Well, we were gonna officially git engaged when I got my Bachelor degree," she explained, motioning for Zita to sit on the bed.

Joss caught the glint of the ring. "He finally did it, didn't he?" she asked, and Zita nodded with a smile. "Good," Joss laughed. "I told him that I'd hurt him if he didn't."

Zita put her suitcase down next to the bed and took a seat on the end. "Just how did your dad and Wade's mom end up together? Wade would never tell me; he'd just grin and tell me to 'ask Joss when you talk to her.'"

Joss laughed. "Wehl, it was mah fault, actually: Daddy was a basket case after Momma2 was killed, and Rachel was beside herself after Ryan died. I just kinda pushed the two of them together since they had known each other since Wade and I first got everyone together in DC before I visited Momma for the first time. I thought that they could help each other get over their grief: imagine mah surprise when I caught the two of them, lip-locked, on the front porch," She grinned.

"That's usually an indication that people are feeling better," Zita observed with a chuckle.

"Oh, they were feeling, all right," Joss replied with a smirk in her voice. "Ah'd never seen Daddy turn that red before, not since the times Ah caught him and Momma2 doing the same 'feeling' on the same porch," she added, and then laughed hard. "I told them that what they were doing was not on the menu, so they'd have to either change restaurants or change menus. Daddy threw his hat at me, told me to git, and slammed the door shut in mah face," she chuckled, and Zita grinned.

Zita sat back for a second and scrunched her face up in an inquisitive look. "Momma2…you mean, Dr. Elizabeth Director, correct?"

"That's Momma2," Joss said with a sad look flashing across her face that disappeared almost immediately.

"All I know was that she died after the Lowardians landed: did they kill her?"

"No, dangit," Joss spat out and then relaxed. "The dang aliens couldn't get to her, so it was our own people: specifically, some members of Global Justice that cousin Kim had recruited."

"The story never got out to the general public," Zita said, "but I heard a little bit of it: what happened?"

A loud growl, joined by a rumble that sounded like an approaching avalanche, came from Joss' stomach, and she grinned and blushed a bit. "Are you hungry, Zita? I kinda missed lunch, and I'm starvin'…as you can tell."

"What's for dinner?" Zita asked, standing up and following Joss to the stairs.

"Steak: of course," Joss called over her shoulder.

--

'That's not a steak,' Zita thought as Slim put the platter masquerading as a plate in front of her. 'Unless, he's serving family-style,' she smiled inside, but that smile was dashed when an equal-sized steak was placed in front of Joss, and a larger one was placed at Slim's place.

"Is this what Wade meant when he talked about the 'roast on a plate?'" Zita asked.

"The first time he saw one of Daddy's steaks, Ah thought his eyes were gonna bug out," Joss laughed. "That was that first Saturday after he arrived on Friday, but he learned after a week's worth of work, and he dived into it like everyone else that next Saturday."

"That reminds me, Sweet Tea: there's a new bunch of tenderfeet coming in this evening," Slim stopped and grinned, "or, is it tenderfoots? Ah never kin get mah feet grammar straight on that one," he laughed.

"I remember, Daddy," Joss sighed. "Ah just hope that there are some cute ones in this batch; that last batch howled at the moon," she added, and Zita stifled a laugh.

"Dr. Possible?" she spoke as he put the plates with the huge baked potato and the tossed greens salad in front of her.

"It's Slim, Zita; after all, we're gonna be family," he said with warmth.

"Slim, then," she stopped for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Slim, I suppose you've been told enough times, but you've raised an amazing daughter, all by yourself. And, after meeting Wade and Rachel, I understand even more where Joss came from."

"Whah, shucks, ma'am" he drawled, generating a snort from Joss. He laughed. "Thank you, Zita, but much of what you see in Joss is Joss and Wade, not me."

"The mesquite bean don't fall too far from the bush," Zita replied. "It's only carried by the bull and moves when and where he drops it," she smiled, and Slim let out a whoop.

"You _must_ be from Texas," he laughed, and she nodded. "I've only heard Texans refer to the 'traveling bean show.'"

"Don't try to change the subject," she shook her fork at him as he sat down. She sliced a piece off the steak and lifted it with her fork. "Only a true father would have raised a daughter strong enough to decide that she and her fiancé needed to break up so their parents could be happy," and, with that, she took the bite of meat. "This _is_ good," she added, smiling at a now semi-blushing Slim. "Cayenne, chipotles, and fresh garlic, correct?"

"Ah've tried to do right by Sweet Tea," Slim replied, garnering a groan and a giggle from Joss. "It was easy when she was younger, before she began to realize just how different her life was than her friends, being around all mah students and other scientists: all those people older than her. It really got bad when she began to understand much of what they were doing," he smiled, and Joss snorted. "Don't snort at me, Sweet Tea: Ah remember how hurt you were when your friends didn't want to come over here with all those college grad students around.

"I just wanted her to be happy, and Ah didn't know how Ah was gonna do it," he continued. "Ah had no idea what was gonna happen in mah life after mah niece and Ron came up here, together, and Joss began to realize just who Wade was….and, he her," Slim grinned, and Joss blushed.

They kept talking throughout dinner, mostly small talk about Joss and her final year of high school and first year of college. Slim watched Zita as she ate: 'that girl can put away food; there's got to be one of Squirt's black holes in her stomach,' he smiled as he watched her sop the last of the meat juices off the now bone-only plate.

"If this is what you're gonna do to me, every time I come up here, I've got to get in better shape," Zita grinned. "Did Wade learn to cook from you, Slim?" Zita asked, and Joss laughed.

'She sure would enjoy the Wade-aerobics,' Joss thought, and she blushed when the images invaded her mind.

"Oh, no," Slim replied with a smile. "He couldn't cook worth beans when he first came up here. He was more dangerous with kitchen utensils and appliances than Kim. He spent some time with me while he was here that first summer, and he learned more from his dad after he went back home. He was always partial to creating new things, but he became really interested in Mexican recipes, especially moles'; he could whip up a chicken mole' that would make you cry with delight."

Slim left for the kitchen, plates that he'd gathered from the carnage in tow.

"Wade likes your shape, pretty well, Ah hear," Joss said after her dad entered the kitchen, and she laughed when Zita blushed.

"He's a horn dog, isn't he?" Zita laughed.

Joss nodded. "Yeah, he is," she replied with a smile, "but he'll always treat you raght."

"I've already had examples, Joss: you trained him, real good."

"Well, I'd love to take the credit for it, but I jes' followed in the footsteps of his parents; they gave him the perfect example of a family, how a husband should treat his wife, and vice-versa."

"Rachel _is_ pretty incredible, isn't she?"

"Oh, yeah," Joss laughed. "She is the best MILTB that you could get, and she's a perfect Momma3."

"MILTB? GF, you've been around Monique too long."

"Ah know," Joss smiled, "Monique _is_ addictive. MILTB has threatened me with payback, though."

"Payback?"

"Yep," Joss' smile grew even bigger. "As she came down the aisle, escorted by Wade, I stood as she approached me and took her other arm when she came by.

"'Is this going to be a shotgun wedding?' she asked softly. I could see a big grin on her face, underneath her veil.

"It's back in Tornado's saddlebags, if Ah need it," I replied, and she let out a laugh as she approached Daddy.

"Who gives this woman in marriage?" the minister asked.

"Her son and I do," I announced, and Wade lifted her veil, kissed her cheek, took my hand, and then we sat down.

"Speaking of Mon," Joss continued, "just how did you get Felix away from her?"

"I didn't: he called one night, in tears, and asked if he could come over. We'd known each other since elementary school, but I lost track of him after Mom and Dad1 got divorced and Dad1 ended up a 'guest' of the State of Texas.

"I opened the door, and Felix flew in. He landed in front of my couch, fell out of his chair onto the couch, and started to bawl like a baby. I slammed the apartment door shut and ran to him."

"'What's wrong?' I asked him, and he finally told me after he stopped crying.

"His worst fear had come true: Monique had turned him down when he proposed to her before she left for college. She told him, as much as I could get through his sniffles, that she just wasn't ready for their relationship to go to that level.

"He found out, later, that she had met someone while she was visiting the college, and that she had fallen, hard, for him," Zita added.

"Wehl, that explains why Ah haven't seen mah Fashionista so much these past few months, and that explains the wedding invitation I got from her yesterday," Joss nodded, now having connected several pieces of the jigsaw puzzle in her head.

"Well, I held Felix for a long time," Zita continued, "and, then, one thing led to another, and I woke up the next morning with him in bed next to me, grinning like a full-blown idiot."

"Zita!" Joss laughed. "'Rebound girl?'"

"Hey, it may have been a rebound to some, but I prefer to think of it as Monique was the rebound from me…especially when I looked down and realized what I was wearing."

"What?" Joss asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

"You've been in BN too many times, GF," Zita laughed, and Joss tried, but failed, to look innocent.

"That silly 'Felix, the Cat' shirt that I'd given him at MTS, before Graduation," she smiled, and Joss let out a belly laugh.

"How'd you end up in that- no, don't tell me, I don't think I want to know," Joss laughed.

"His hands worked perfectly, and so did some other parts of his body," Zita smiled an evil smile, and Joss cut her laugh when she saw the kitchen door swing open.

"Got room for dessert?" Slim asked, bringing out a tray, filled with a massive cheesecake, covered in cherries.

Zita just moaned.

--

What happens next, and what happened to Dr. Director?

Stay tuned for Chapter 3, the conclusion of _**i**__**lyiw: Cage Bats, Kissing, Cooking & Conundrum**_: …gifts of the heart …

--

2009.11.07

--


	3. C 3: …gifts of the heart …

_**iyiw: Cage Bats, Kissing, Cooking & Conundrums**_

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

Something I haven't done in awhile, but I felt I needed to do: an inserted response to each of my reviewers:

RabulaTasa: the engineered plague has been deactivated by this time. Even though he was no longer infectious, there was, unfortunately, no cure for the infected Rentons…. And, merde? Sorry, you'll have to look that one up…lol

CajunBear73: after the nanobots, sir….and, a 'lovely parting gift, indeed.' Family intertwining, especially unplanned, can lead to some heartbreak, indeed: you'll see just how much in the final chapter, as well as the aftermath.

LindsayLaurelle: welcome, dear lady, to my 'verses, and, thank you for 'fav'ing' me as an author and putting me on your alert list. The title? "I'm _full_ of surprises…."

whitem: where it goes, next? Stay tuned, then…and, yes, the AM was busy….Glad you're enjoying the tale, but no wall available, darn it.

Joe Stoppinghem: no, Meredith has the position, not Zita. And, as for Dr. Director, she did not die alone….

**--**

**A/N Forward: **

--

This is, indeed, another entry in the "if lovin' you is wrong" multi-verse.

The idea can be blamed on kt and the story she asked me to beta: no idea how it happened, but it did. I fully suspect she let loose a pack of pregnant plot bunnies in my study and giggled while she did it.

I tell people: write what you know, so this is a spin-off from the _**Blue Eyes, Shining**_ arc. The question came up: What would have happened if the Lowardians had used biological weapons?

--

_**ilyiw: Cage Bats, Kissing, Cooking & Conundrums**_

--

Chapter 3: …gifts of the heart …

--

"This could be painful," Zita said as she managed to make the last step back into the loft.

Joss laughed. "You impressed Daddy: he didn't expect you to finish the steak and fixins, let alone that hunk of cheesecake."

"Too much time around the MIST nerds, I guess," Zita plopped back onto the bed. "That, and I have too much Texas flowin' in my blood: I do love me some good beef," she grinned and moaned a bit, her stomach trying to punish her for its unexpected good fortune.

"Before we had 'Joss Possible and the Attach of the Killer Stomach," she laughed, rubbing her stomach, "you were gonna tell me what happened to Dr. Director. How did she die?"

"It was Team Impossible," Joss said, and Zita nodded, both in recognition and in surprise. "Kim had managed to convince them to join GJ and go non-profit after she, Ron, and Wade defeated them when they tried to get her to quit her world-saving missions. I guess that they weren't completely happy, or something had 'ground their beans'," Joss laughed, "so they took their chance when things where the most unstable: right after the Lowardians were defeated.

"Momma2 had invited them and Will back to her office to discuss cleanup activities after she talked to the President and the UN Sec-Gen. Two of them headed into the office, and Crash held Will outside with some questions about what had happened to him 'up here.' Will heard the shout, the shots, and then he blacked out. When he came to on the floor with both a splitting headache and a bump on the back of his head, he realized what had happened. He got up and ran, head still throbbing, into Momma2's office and found her sitting in her chair, a large red spot expanding on her chest, and a huge grin on her face.

"He asked her what happened, and she pointed at the corner where the other two members of Team Impossible lay, dead. 'Unfortunately, Crash shot me after I killed them,' she told Will, then coughed up blood. Will ran over to the desk, but she waved him away. 'No time, Will,' she told him. 'Get Crash.'

"He started to say something, but she waved him silent. 'Not your fault, Will.' She coughed up more blood, said, 'tell my fiancé and future daughter, "I'm sorry,"' and then slumped over.

"Will reached over and checked her pulse.

"She was gone." Joss said with no emotion, but Zita could feel the pain.

Joss was silent fora few moments before continuing.

"Will checked his handheld and located Crash: he was trying to escape on the west stairwell to the surface. Will locked down the stairwell and went to meet him.

"It didn't take Will long to reach the stairwell, and he dodged a couple of shots from Crash before he reached him. He never told us what he did, other than say he 'took out the trash' with a look that I never want to see in anyone's eyes again.

"He told Daddy and me the story when he came up here and told us what happened to Momma2. He offered Daddy his badge, but Daddy told him that it wasn't his fault. 'You'd just make Elizabeth mad if you quit,' Daddy told him, and Will looked up and saw honesty in his smile and tears. He looked over at me, and I nodded: I was in the same condition as Daddy.

"Then, Will joined us, and we all wept for Momma2," Joss concluded, and Zita reached over and pulled Joss into a hug.

"You know it's not your fault, Joss," Zita whispered, and Joss shuddered in surprise. "I spent too much time around Kim and Ron, so I know what you've been thinking: 'if she hadn't been engaged to your Dad, she would still be alive.' Not true: Monique had to convince Kim that her push for them to join GJ wasn't the reason that Betty was killed, either. Stupid people do stupid things, no matter who they are or where they are."

They hugged for a long time in relative silence, the quiet broken only by the soft whimpering of both of the two young women. Finally, Joss pulled back, tears on her face and a smile having joined it.

"Dang, Zita, you know me, don'cha?" Joss grinned.

"Too much Kim-time, I suppose," Zita grinned.

"So, what'cha wanna know about my favorite hunk of rich, dark chocolate?" Joss asked with an evil grin.

"First, Joss, how are you about everything?" Zita asked, leaning forward.

"Wehl, Ah'll admit, Ah was a bit ticked, at first," Joss replied. "Daddy and I had a long conversation about me and Wade after he realized how he felt about Rachel: you know, the normal father-daughter talk about one dead mother, one dead almost-mother, and one almost-mother who also just happened to be the mother of my BFF-almost-fiancée," she laughed. "Typical, when you think about it," she continued with a smile.

"Well, typical for a Possible," Zita snarked.

"I wanted Daddy to be happy," Joss continued, not responding to the comment, "and I realized that, for that to happen, I would have to have Wade in my life, just not the way Ah wanted," Joss continued, and Zita could see the beginning of tears welling up inside. "He had been my rock, Zita, my only, and I was gonna have to give him up. I soooo wanted to be Mrs. Wade Agamemnon Load," she smiled and wiped her face, "but I knew that, for Daddy's sake, it wasn't to be, it couldn't happen," Joss repeated, and Zita could hear Joss attempting to convince herself, back then, that it was for the best.

"So, I headed outa mah room, all intent on going to Middleton and telling Wade what I had decided. On a whim, I called him as I left the house, heading across the way for the Bunker; and it turned out that he was walking out of his room, heading for a tube, coming up here to see me. I told him to come on up, not telling him what I had decided.

"I met him in the tube room, and he looked like he had been 'rode hard, and put up soppin' wet'," Joss laughed, and Zita smiled. "He had the worst case of Cousin Kim pseudo-PDP on his face that I had ever seen, and he couldn't speak for at least a minute: he just stared at me, trying to speak, and trying not to break down in tears.

"I just stared at him the entire time, and then I grinned and held my arms open. He ran into mah arms and hugged me tighter than a boa constrictor getting' ready to chow down," Joss laughed, but Zita could see the pain in her face. "Ah swear, we were gonna flood that room with our tears," she smiled.

"When we both finally quit bawling, we looked at each other and said the same thang:

"'My only: we need to break up.'"

"We looked at each other at the same time, then smiled, then grinned like a pair of full-bore idiots, and then we laughed so hard that Ah know we shook the floor above us.

"'We're doing this for the parents,'" I said solemnly, then giggled when Wade punched me in the arm.

"'Why does that line sound so old-fashioned?' he asked, taking my hand and leading me to the elevator. We headed out of the Bunker and walked across the ranch grounds for a long time. We just kept walking, looking down, both afraid to look at the other, but squeezing each other's hand to let the other one know that we understood.

"We looked up, and we had managed to end up where we started: at our bench, the table, bench, and overlook where we had begun our lives together. We sat on the table, looked at each other, and kissed lak we'd never kissed before: hungrily, and with a fervor that was something that we never imagined we would do…until we were married.

"I reached up and started to unbutton my blouse, and Wade put his hand up to stop me. 'Joss, no,' he said, and Ah thought I was gonna die, raght then. 'I've been in your head, remember, and you in mine: we've shared more than any couple, other than Ron and Kim, have ever shared. I want to remember you, just as you are: my dear, dear friend, just without benefits," he grinned.

"I unbuttoned the top two buttons, reached inside, and pulled out my locket, the heart-shaped one that Daddy had given me. Lifting my hair in the back, I unclasped it and took it in my hand, all while watching Wade just state at me and shake his head 'no, no, no.'

"'Wade,' I opened the locket and showed him the pictures: one of me and Daddy, and one of me and him, 'Ah want you to have this, so you'll always remember me.

"Then," Joss grinned, and Zita saw her face well up with tears, "that turkey reached into his shirt and pulled out the heart-shaped locket that he wore, the one that Stephanie gave him, slipped it over his head, and opened it, showing me the two pictures: his picture of Stephanie on the left, and a picture of me on the right. 'We can trade, then,' he leaned over, allowing me to place my locket around his neck. I put my hands down, and it was his turn: I leaned my head forward and lifted my hair, and he placed the locket over my head and around my neck.

"When he dropped his hands, I grabbed one and placed it over my heart. I could feel the warmth of his hand through my shirt, and Wade gasped. 'Joss, did you forget something?' he asked.

"'No, Wade, I didn't', I smiled. 'I wanted you to feel mah heart, the heart that would always hold you inside.'

"And, Zita, you'd better not hurt him," Joss said, "or Ah'm comin' after you with mah bullwhips, and you won't have any skin left."

"No worries, Joss," Zita replied, not certain if Joss was kidding or not (and not wanting to find out, the hard way). "I'm hooked on rich, deep, dark, chocolate. It won't be 'Ebony and Ivory'," she added, and Joss laughed, "but it will be a wonderful mixing of mole' flavors: the chocolate and the spices."

"Good," Joss stood and held out an arm, indicating for Zita to step into the hug. "Welcome to the family, SIL."

Zita stood, stepped over to Joss, and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug…one of happiness and relief, if truth be told.

"Sweet Tea, the new batch is pulling in from the airport in five minutes," Slim called from the kitchen. "Could you take them to the Bunker and get them settled in?"

"Shor' thang, Daddy," Joss said as Zita released her. Joss gave her a quick peck on the cheek and headed for her bathroom. "Zita, I'll be down in a few: just gonna brush my hair. Would you meet the airport can for me?"

"Shor' thang, little missy," Zita laughed, and she headed down the stairs as she heard Joss let out a whoop as she closed her bathroom door.

Zita smiled as she headed down the steps, and she was surprised to see Slim, standing there. He motioned for her to be silent and to follow him to his study. They entered as he turned on the lights, and he closed the door behind her and locked it.

"Zita, I want to show you something," he sat at his desk, motioning for her to take the seat next to his desk. He pulled out an old yearbook, found the bookmark, and opened it to the marked page. "This is why I gave you that look when you came up and I met you, the first time," he pointed at a picture.

Zita looked at the picture and gasped: this could have been her high school yearbook picture. She looked at the name below it, and she looked up at Slim with understanding:

The name read Sheri Nicole Sensible.

"You could have been her twin sister," he said calmly. "They say that everyone has a twin, somewhere, but I never expected to meet my dead wife's twin, the twin of my daughter's mother. Now you know why Ah looked so shocked when Ah first met you and why Ah locked these up after you came up that first time: Ah couldn't risk having Sweet Tea see these."

"Your secret is safe with me," Zita said, and she shocked herself when she stood and kissed his cheek. "She was a lucky young woman, just as Rachel is, today." And, with that, Zita headed to the door, unlocked it, and headed out, closing the door behind her.

She took three steps and began to sob uncontrollably. She ran into the downstairs bathroom, turned on the lights, and locked the door.

She couldn't tell Joss what had happened after she had invited Wade over to her apartment. He had reciprocated, this time inviting her over to his house for dinner …

She rang the doorbell and heard "It's open, Zita….come on in."

She opened the door and was assaulted by the aromas filling the entire house: She smelled chilies of multiple kinds, onions, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger…and a wonderful chocolate aroma that almost had her melt into the floor.

She followed her nose to the kitchen and found Wade, wearing a chef's smock and placing huge pieces of chicken on a platter covered in rice. After the last piece went down, he grabbed a ladle, began to scoop into a large vat, and poured the almost-abaddon-brown sauce over the chicken pieces and poured the last bit into a serving dish next to it. The entire time he was working, he was humming to himself: Zita didn't recognize the tune, but she liked it.

"What'cha cooking, Wade?" She asked with a smile.

Wade looked up and grinned. "You'll see; now head back into the dining room. I'll be out in a moment," he playfully pushed her out of the kitchen.

She went into the dining room and sat down at one of the two places set at the table, smiling at the flickering candles. Wade came out with a rolling cart, one dish on the top and three on the bottom.

He served her a small spinach salad with an interesting dressing that she couldn't read (and he wouldn't tell her the ingredients). Then, the masterpiece: he scooped rice onto her plate and added chicken pieces that he then covered in the wonderful-smelling sauce.

"My own take on Chicken Mole," he smiled as he plated his own and sat down next to her. "Tell me what you think," he added as she cut a piece of the chicken ('fork-tender', she thought), scooped it and some of the rice on her fork, lifted it to her mouth, and took a bite.

Wade just sat there, watching reaction as she chewed, smiled, had a surprised look on her face, and then her face was taken over by a massive smile as she attacked the plate, not saying a word until all that was left were the chicken bones and the sighs of satisfaction that she'd released into the air as she ate, stopping to take a sip of either water or the sparkling grape juice that Wade poured for her.

"Wade," she finally spoke after leaving him hanging the entire meal, "that was exquisite. You didn't use regular cocoa powder, did you?"

"Thank you," he smiled. "I used a special dark chocolate that I crushed into the Roma tomato sauce before I mixed in the red chiles, the habeñeros, and the chipotles: somehow, it just seemed to make sense with you and me," he added, and she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

He stopped her with his hands and held her face in them, just staring at her lips.

He'd never noticed them before, at least not like this: the tiny lines in them that were so distinctive, miniature whorls creating that unique pattern that was Zita that he had learned to love to taste. He's never stared at Joss' lips like this before, but he knew that these were different, special…

…so, he leaned in and brushed his tongue across them, generating a small shudder of surprise and delight from Zita, tasting the spiciness that was the meal and the woman, both. And then, he pressed his lips to hers, and she willingly opened her mouth…

…and, he knew, then, that the purchases were right.

"I got you something," he said as he pulled back from the kiss and reached under the table to retrieve a large package, handing it to her.

She smiled her thanks and opened it, laughing as she pulled out a large pink robe. Then, she grinned when she saw what was underneath: a sheer, lime-green baby-doll nightgown.

"Awfully sure of yourself, aren't you," she smirked, looking up.

Wade, on one knee in front of her, had the ring box open. "I certainly hope so," he replied with a huge smile and a wave of his hand, and the music started.

They slow-danced, kissed, and the kiss led to even more…

…and, she had awakened to the sunlight, streaming into the bedroom window, and the odor of breakfast in bed. She had laughed, because Wade was standing at the end of his huge bed, wearing her pink robe, and holding a tray of steaming breakfast. That was when she had realized that she was in bed, her lime-green nightgown was on the chair next to the bed, and that the sheets were cold…

"Good morning, my raven-haired beauty," he had said, placing the tray on the night stand and, reaching into the robe pocket, pulled out the ring box that she remembered from the night before. "You forgot this," he smiled, opening the box, pulling out the engagement ring that she had accepted the night before, and slipped it back on her finger. "There: that looks much better," he said.

She pulled her covers off and pulled Wade down onto her on the bed, kissing him as if she would die if she could not kiss him.

"I love you, Wade Agamemnon Load," she whispered.

"Good," he said, nibbling at her shoulder and marveling at her taste. "Besides, I can't return the ring," he added with a smile as he nibbled once again, this time on her neck. He laughed when she punched his arm and grabbed him, once again, and resumed her kissing assault on her fiancé…

"Now, I understand," she whispered, touching her ring. "I never, really, knew just how lucky I was, until now: I am truly, truly blessed."

--

The sun had almost escaped, and the moon chased it across the multi-colored western horizon. The airport van stopped in front of the ranch house. The door opened, and six young men and women piled out, all groaning and stretching.

"Didn't you say you knew the Possibles?" one young man asked.

"Well, I went to high school with Kim, but I haven't seen her in years, since I went off to college," the other young man replied, walking around to the back of the van, opening the rear door, reaching in, grabbing his suitcase and his backpack, and slinging the backpack over his shoulder.

The driver shot him a dirty look as he stepped out of the way, but he grinned as the young man handed him a US 20-dollar bill. "For putting up with my singing," the young man explained with a grin, and he stepped away.

The driver then reached in and grabbed a pair of bags with the same tags on them. "Miss Candace Van Slyke," he called, and a diminutive young woman with long brown hair stepped forward. The driver looked surprised when she threw the huge backpack over her shoulders and grabbed the suitcase, handing him a tip with her free hand.

"Miss Connie Fong," he called, and he grinned as the willowy young blonde came forward to grab her three bags, but not before handing him a substantial tip. He bowed, and she tittered as she walked away. 'I'm getting too old for this,' he thought as he watched her walk away.

"Miss Jamie Hixson," he called, and a blond short-haired young woman stepped forward, pulled the handle from her rollaway bag, handed him a tip, and slung her laptop backpack over one shoulder and headed to the front of the van.

"Mr. Jaime Hamilton-Hansbury," he called, and a bald, dark-skinned young man strode up, handed him a tip with a smile, and grabbed both of his bags in one hand.

"Mr. Chad Nguyen," he called, and the large Oriental young man came up, his white robes flowing as he stepped forward to hand the driver a tip, bowing as he did, and then bent down and grabbed his bags.

"Well, Slim's program _is_ impressive: associated with Global Justice, among others," Jamie said to Jaime as he walked up and stood next to her. "I can't wait to see what he's done in his AI work: I've heard that he has a talking horse."

"What's his name, Jamie: Ed?" Jaime laughed.

"No, Jaime: Wilbur," Connie replied with a straight face.

Zita, having heard most of the talk with the two young men and thinking she knew one of the voices, opened the door the rest of the way and stepped out onto the porch. She looked over the arriving students and could not help herself by adding "Actually, his name is Tornado".

"Who's that?" Jaime asked. The first person that had exited the van turned to face the door…and burst out laughing.

Zita looked in the direction of the laugh and burst out laughing herself. "Reger: just what in the heck are you doing here? Does Barkin know where you are? How did you get out of detention?"

"Zita?" Ron Reger squinted, and he laughed when he realized who it was. "I thought I remembered your voice.

"Me?" he continued. "Aren't you a little far north for your Texas blood?" He laughed again. "I thought you told me you'd never get any further north than Middleton: too dang cold.

"Wait: I thought you were going into gaming theory: what are you doing he-" Ron couldn't finish his sentence after the door opened and Joss stepped out.

"Kim?" Ron said softly, and Joss laughed.

"No, sir," Joss laughed. "I'm Joss, Kim's cousin."

"Wow," he walked over to the porch and stood in front of Joss. "If this is what all the Possible women look like, I wonder why I've spent any time looking anywhere else. You," he reached out, took her left hand in his, squeezing it gently, "are even more beautiful than Kim."

Joss giggled.

"What happened to your hair, Ron: last time I saw you, I remember a mass of red, curly hair," Zita said.

"Between Jim, Tim and their rockets, they set my hair on fire at the beach, later that night," Ron grimaced, and Joss giggled again. "I ended up with a shaved head, going into my freshman year at college. I just got used to a shorter hairstyle after it grew back, and it wasn't anywhere near as curly as it was before it got toasted." He reached up and brushed his hand through his full head of now-straight red hair.

"So, you're the one that Jim told me about," Joss gasped, and then he grinned. "He said you were fun, and he said you were crazy, but he didn't say you were cute," she added with a smirk.

Ron blushed for a moment, and then he grinned. "Well, some things are best kept as a mystery: the awesomesauce that is Ron Reger," he replied,

Jennifer and Jaime both groaned, and Joss giggled.

Zita grinned inside when she realized that Ron still had Joss' hand. 'Well, this could solve one problem,' she thought.

--

(Five months later)

"You ready, Wade?" Ron Reger asked with a grin on his face 'as big as Montana,' Wade thought.

"I'm ready, Ron: you?"

"Man, I can't wait."

"Nervous?"

"Heck, yes!" Ron laughed. "She _was_ going to marry to you, after all: I've got big shoes to fill."

"Not that big, Ron," Wade replied with a grin.

At the other end of the walkway, Zita smiled at Joss and Dr, Possible, and Joss grinned at Zita and Mr. Soto, her father.

"Are you ready, mijo?" her father asked, and Zita nodded.

"Ready, Sweet Tea?" Slim asked, and Joss nodded vigorously. He kissed her forehead and grinned. "Here we go," he whispered.

The music started, and the guests all rose for the traditional "Wedding March."

Of course, that was the only thing that was traditional, since the two brides and their fathers joined at the back of the outdoor area that had been converted to an outdoor wedding chapel for 4.

The two grooms turned and looked at their brides, escorted by their fathers, and both had the same thought:

'How did I get this lucky?'

Joss, Zita, and their fathers took the walk, and Joss cringed inside as she approached Rachel.

"No shotgun, DTB," Rachel mouthed with a smile, and Joss almost tripped when she tried to keep from laughing out loud.

The fathers placed a daughter's hand in the hand of their intended.

"We are gathered here, today, in the sight of God, to join these men and women in holy matrimony," the minister began.

Joss looked over at Wade, and he winked.

"I'll always love you," Joss mouthed.

"I will always love you, too," Wade mouthed back.

Zita saw the exchange, caught Ron's eye, and winked at him.

Ron blushed.

--

"Ron Wayne, Andrea Jocelyn, Wade Agamemnon, Zita Selena, by the power vested in me by the Great State of MontanaI now pronounce you husband and wife, and husband and wife. Gentlemen, you may kiss your brides," and as the words were being spoken…

Ron had Joss in his arms and kissed his new wife.

Wade had wrapped Zita up and was kissing his new wife, as well.

"Welcome to the rest of your life, Mrs. Reger," Ron whispered as he released Joss, a smile on her face that amazed even Ron.

"Welcome to forever, Mrs. Load," Wade said softly, and Zita giggled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct pleasure to present to you, for the first time, Ronald and Jocelyn Reger, and Wade and Zita Load," the minister announced to the standing applause of the guests.

The recessional trumpets announced the conclusion of the ceremony, and the foursome headed down the aisle to the applause and the cheers of the guests.

--

"Are you certain?" Joss asked.

"Of course, my wonderful, beautiful bride," Ron said as he danced with her at the outdoor reception that Slim had set up for them at the ranch, next to the Bunker. Ron spun her once, Joss smiled, and then he danced her over to the other newlyweds.

Tapping Wade on the shoulder, Ron grinned. "May I cut in?"

Wade looked up in surprise to see the person tapping his shoulder and then looked back at Zita. She smiled, nodded, and pushed him away.

"You deserve it, Aggie," she grinned, and Wade looked at the woman in white, the one that he thought that he was certain that he would marry.

He held out his hand, Joss took it, and the two began to dance, slowly.

'Since I was 13,' he thought as the woman in his arms suddenly, if only in his eyes, changed into the girl he remembered from that very first picture, her blue eyes dancing as she flew through the air.

'Dear God in Heaven, she is even more beautiful than I ever imagined she would be," Wade thought as they danced.

'God, thank you for Wade,' Joss thought as they danced. 'Thank you for making sure he would be happy. I was so worried about him after Ryan died. If I couldn't be the one who would be his 'forever', I'm glad it's Zita: she's perfect for him.'

Zita took Ron's hand and began to dance with him. "Gee, Ron, you changed," she grinned.

"I've changed?" he laughed. "Have you looked in the mirror, lately, Mrs. Load? You were pretty before, but now you're absolutely stunning, now: he must be as good for you as she is for me."

"You're right," she acknowledged. "You look pretty good, yourself, guy," she added as she looked over at the almost-couple, dancing. "Just look at them, Ron: I don't think I could have done what they did."

"Me neither, but look at what we gained," he grinned and kissed Zita's cheek. "Now, I have a spicy, sexy SIL."

"And, I have a really cute BIL," she replied with a smirk, and then she gave him a peck on the lips.

"Reger!" the voice from the past shook Ron to his very core, and he turned to see a smiling ('Yikes! Smiling!!) Steve Barkin.

"Yes, Mr. Barkin?" Ron managed to get the words out, and Zita giggled.

"Reger," Steve continued, holding up a flute and giving him an air toast, "you're excused from Detention," he grinned. "And, by the way: congratulations, sir. You have a lovely bride, sir. How you got her, I'll _never _know," he added with an even bigger grin.

"Uh, thank you?" Ron replied, and Steve laughed and walked away, in the direction of Kim and Ron Stoppable.

"Who invited him?" Ron asked.

"Stoppable, thanks for the heads-up," Steve smiled and gave him a flute salute. "No more homework for you, sir," he added before he took a drink.

"They planned this, didn't they," Joss asked as she watched the exchange while Wade pulled her closer.

"Of course they did, Joss: what did you expect? They love us," he replied softly as they swayed to the music.

"Gee, genius-level skills still good in the field, huh?" Joss snarked, and they both laughed.

"You look absolutely resplendent in your wedding dress, Andrea Jocelyn," Wade smiled. "You're even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, Sweet Tea," Joss smiled, "…and, believe me, I have a pretty vivid imagination," Wade added with a grin.

Joss blushed, but was able to speak after a few moments. "You're not lookin' half-bad looking yourself in your tails, either, Aggie," she replied with a smile of her own, generating a bigger one from Wade.

Wade was silent for a minute before he spoke again: "Are you happy?" he asked, and Joss looked up at him.

"Yes, I am," Joss laughed after barely a moment's pause, "and I'm surprised I can actually say that without lying through my teeth, this time. I just wanted you to be happy, Wade, after everything you'd been through: that makes me happy."

They were silent for a second. "Well, and Ron…boy, howdy, can that man kiss!" she grinned.

"Good for you, SIL," he said, and Joss snorted and squeezed him. "I wanted to make sure you were happy, as well," he added with a nod toward Slim, dancing with his wife Rachel.

Joss pulled him closer. "I love my BIL," she whispered, then looked up into the chocolate eyes that she knew so well and moved her face closer to his.

"I love my SIL, my juice piggy," Wade replied, moving his face closer to hers. Joss couldn't help but giggle.

"Will you two just kiss, already," the voices said in both of their heads. Wade and Joss both looked at each other in surprise as they had not heard the voices in a long time. "You know you want to, they expect you to, so go ahead," the group laughter was subtle but definitely present…

…and, as their lips touched, Zita and Ron both smiled.

"Thanks, LB," Ron Stoppable smiled as he sat and held his wife's hand.

"Yeah: thanks," Kim added, rubbing the bulge on her stomach, and Ron smiled even bigger.

"How are Felix and Rebecca?" Ron asked, and Kim smiled.

"If it had been Tweebs, no matter how much I love you, I would have had to kill you," Kim laughed as Ron squirmed. "As it is, at least I won't be outnumbered," Kim added, and Ron breathed a sigh of relief.

Rufus stuck his head out of Ron's right tuxedo pocket, wearing a tiny tailored tux himself. He looked into the sky and jumped down onto the ground in front of Ron.

"Our pleasure," the voices replied.

Rufus looked up, toward the coming sunset, and saluted.

"Goooood little naked mole rat," one of the voices said, a female voice in a very good impression of Kim.

"He's the only one who can pull off the black tie and tail image," a ;pair of voices added, sounding eerily like Twill and Tweed.

Rufus shot a raspberry and held his salute.

"What's he doing, Ron?" Kim asked.

"No idea, KS," he replied as Rufus held the salute until the sun set.

--

A large owl sat in the branches of one of the trees overlooking the reception area. It hadn't made a sound as it had watched the earlier activities happening below. Just as Wade and Joss kissed, it gave a soft hoot that could not be heard for more then a few feet. As if in response, a low tweet answered back and was immediately followed by a second and a third.

The owl blinked its great eyes as it turned its head to look at a cardinal that was settling in beside it on the branch. The bird's red and brown feathers showed the signs of various battles, and the bird was missing its right eye. The owl and the cardinal both looked at each other for a moment and seemed to bow their heads at each other. Then, they both looked to the cardinal's left at two mockingbirds that had come in for a landing on the branch.

The two mockingbirds turned to look at the owl and the cardinal beside them. One mockingbird, slightly smaller, noiselessly ruffled its feathers. The larger bowed its head at the smaller and spread its wing to cover the smaller as it dipped its head to lightly touch its beak to the smaller one's head, just above the eyes. The smaller sat for a moment before it moved just enough to take it out from under the larger bird's wing, and it again ruffled its feathers and spread its wings out fully before it whistled a few very soft notes that would have been very much at home accompanying a choir.

A soft, almost inaudible cooing sound came from just above the four birds as a pair of turtledoves landed lightly on a branch just above. One of the new arrivals was larger then the other. The turtledoves looked down at the others and then looked at each other as they cooed for a second, then slowly they nodded their heads to the others. The other four returned the nod, and the owl again turned to the cardinal, and watched it blink twice. When it finished the second blink, its missing eye had suddenly reappeared, and all of its battle scars were gone.

The owl blinked twice at the cardinal, ruffling its feathers and blinking in surprise.

All six birds turned back to look at the reception area just as Wade and Joss broke their kiss. They watched as Joss reached out to take her husband's hand while, at the same time Wade reached out to take his wife's. Then, Rachel took Slim's hand, and Ron reached over and touched Kim's hand. The birds didn't move as they watched the groups of people hugged each other, but as they broke the group hug all six birds looked at each other and suddenly took flight.

Unseen by any person, they circled the wedding party and soared higher and higher on invisible currents of rising air until they were higher then they would normally fly.

The owl called out in a voice that carried through the mountains and was answered by the cardinal and the doves, the mockingbirds adding a gentle background harmony with their song. Again, the owl hooted, but this time the others replied to him as their calls combined to form a sound that, while odd, seemed to call to some special place in the soul.

The owl looked down and blinked twice: Rufus was standing in front of Ron and saluting. The flock then started to fly west, heading into the purple- and orange- colored sunset. The small mocking bird began to circle the other birds. As it passed the owl, it appeared to turn itself upside down for just a second before it start to circle them again. As it started a third pass, it was joined by the smaller turtledove. The cardinal, the owl, and both the larger turtledove and mockingbird seemed not to notice as the smaller birds as they circled them again for a fourth time. Their fifth pass, however, generated a response from the larger mockingbird and turtledove: they called loudly at them, the sound seemed like elders gently but affectionately calling out to children that were playing 'just a bit too much'.

The smaller birds settled in to glide with the others: the turtledove joining its companion as they took the lead from the owl, the cardinal flying just under the owl and to the right, and the smaller mockingbird joining the larger as they moved to fly just under the owl and to the left.

Suddenly, the turtledoves banked, and the others followed a heartbeat later, flying into a patch of dark purple sky.

As the sun lost its battle with the horizon, they all vanished into the darkness.

Rufus dropped his salute.

--

story now complete

**--**

**Author's afterward:**

This story, as I stated in the forward, can be blamed on kt for unleashing pregnant plot bunnies in my study. I had no plans to enter another Zaratan contest…oh, well. Besides, pairings: that topic, to me, is like cheese to Rufus.

(Rufus) Hey!

There were several changes/clarifications made throughout this story, al by my friends ja, kt, and Star_eva01. kt enjoys the evil jokes (well, at least one of them, since she added the Magic Kingdom reference), and the rest were mine. She hadn't seen any of this before it was 97% complete, so she was shocked by most of it.

Star_eva01 took a single 4-line paragraph at the end of the story and created, IMHO, a wonderful ending aviary motif that works. Thanks, Star_eva01: you do, indeed, rock. Not what you'd expect from a self-proclaimed redneck author form Arkansas….

And, then, there's Rocinante: thanks to you and Star_eva01, the Clue Bee morphed into a Clue Bunny for Wade to use on Zita.

The birds are...well, you can figure them out.

Thanks for reading, and please review.

--

Pairings:

Zita Flores/Felix Renton

Joss Possible/Wade Load

Rachel Load/Slim Possible

Zita Flores/Wade Load

Joss Possible/Ron Reger

Translations:

Abuelo – (Spanish) grandmother

generosidad - generous

verdammenswert – (Deutcsh) damnable

--

2009.11.13


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